stint

¹ American  

[stint] / stɪnt /

verb (used without object)

1. to be frugal; get along on a scanty allowance.

   Don't stint on the food.

   They stinted for years in order to save money.

2. Archaic. to cease action; desist.

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verb (used with object)

1. to limit to a certain amount, number, share, or allowance, often unduly; set limits to; restrict.

   Synonyms:

   skimp, scrimp, economize

2. Archaic. to bring to an end; check.

noun

1. a period of time spent doing something.

   a two-year stint in the army.

2. an allotted amount or piece of work.

   to do one's daily stint.

3. limitation or restriction, especially as to amount.

   to give without stint.

   Synonyms:

   tour of duty, tour, term, shift

4. a limited, prescribed, or expected quantity, share, rate, etc..

   to exceed one's stint.

   Synonyms:

   portion, allotment

5. Obsolete. a pause; halt.

stint ² American  

[stint] / stɪnt /

noun

1. any of various small sandpipers of the genus Calidris, as the least sandpiper.

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stint ¹ British  

/ stɪnt /

verb

1. to be frugal or miserly towards (someone) with (something)

2. archaic to stop or check (something)

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noun

1. an allotted or fixed amount of work

2. a limitation or check

3. obsolete a pause or stoppage

stint ² British  

/ stɪnt /

noun

1. any of various small sandpipers of the chiefly northern genus Calidris (or Erolia ), such as C. minuta ( little stint )

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Other Word Forms

• stintedly
  adverb
• stintedness
  noun
• stinter
  noun
• stintingly
  adverb
• stintless
  adjective
• unstinted
  adjective
• unstinting
  adjective
• unstintingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of stint¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English verb stinten, stenten “to cease,” Old English styntan “to make blunt, dull”; cognate with Old Norse stytta “to shorten” ( cf. stunt ¹); noun derivative of the verb

Origin of stint²

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; stynte, stint; further origin unknown

Explanation

The noun stint means a set amount of time in which you do something — often work of some sort. "She served a stint in the army, followed by a stint in an office setting, before settling on a career as a lounge singer." Unlike a project or vocation, a stint can refer to the stretch of time spent doing a particular job. You apply for a job, but you refer to your past stint in the Peace Corps. As a verb, stint means to be sparing or frugal, or restrict in a stingy manner ("to skimp"). "The school board chose to make cuts at the administrative level, rather than stint on the children's education."

Example Sentences

Among her studio partners on “But What the Hell Do I Know” are the producers Stint and Tyler Cole and the songwriter Salem Ilese, the last known for her early TikTok hit “Mad at Disney.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025

I love working with Stint and all of my producers because they have such a wide palette when it comes to music.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2025

Sol Schlagman, who co-founded Stint along with his brother, Sam, drew from his own experience as a college student in creating it.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 24, 2021

The restaurant chain Chipotle uses Stint to recruit workers “at short notice to cover peak times in our restaurants,” said Jacob Sumner, its director of European operations.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 24, 2021

In the Evening, we each do our Stint at cooking on the Fire.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• assignment
• duty
• job
• spell
• stretch
• tour